Linda Vinson's painting technique is realistic, her colors are vibrant, and her canvas — well, it isn't a canvas at all. It's silk.

The longtime Brea resi­dent started out as a water-colorist.

"I just kept switching papers, looking for a great paper," she said.

About seven years ago, she and Fullerton painter JoAnn Cowans were in Pasadena at a trade show, buying art supplies. There they saw a silk painting demonstration.

"I have always wanted to try that," Vinson told her friend.

Seconds later, the demon­strator asked if anyone in the crowd wanted to give it a try. "She would," Cowans cried, pointing at Vinson.

"I went up on the stage and picked up a brush, and I think JoAnn sat there for two hours by herself," Vinson said with a laugh. From that moment, she knew "this is what I want to do with my life."

That's how Cowans remembers it, too. "Linda took hold of that brush and she's never let go since," she said.

Both  artists  bought  silk painting supplies that day, but eventually Cowans gave hers away. Vinson, on the other hand, dove in immediately.

While silk painting has much in common with other types of painting, it requires some addi­tional steps. Vinson, for in­stance, must stretch the silk on wooden frames her husband and son built for her. The 60" wide, four-yard long frames rest on sawhorses — and yes, it is a challenge to paint in the center of the broad expanse of silk stretched on them.

"The next time I talked to Linda, she was in the process of making big stretchers, making a steamer, doing all of this complicated stuff, and I realized it was a lot more complicated than I even thought," Cowans said. "I never opened my kit. She's done wonderful work, just wonderful."

Next she draws on the silk, laying the groundwork for the painting. If Vinson plans to sew the fabric into a gown or cape, she creates a pattern for the garment and traces that onto the silk before drawing the design elements. Only this way, can she be sure that every flower petal, wave, or feather will be exactly where she envisioned it on the finished piece.

Then comes painting. That's the fun part. Vinson uses fabric dyes made especially for silk. She also uses gutta, a resistant material that allows her to control the paint - creating lines that will hold it in place - as well as hot wax when she is creating a batik fabric. But for the most part, the painting process is similar to a watercolor painting process.

"It's the love of it that drives you, a freedom," Vinson said.

“The dyes - you put them down, and they flow. I love that process of colors flowing into one another, the action of taking those dyes, making them move, making the colors blend."

After the dye has dried over­night, Vinson lays the fabric between two massive pieces of paper, tightly rolls this three layer sandwich, and tucks it into the steamer where it will stay for four hours, set­ting the dye into the fabric. Dry cleaning removes the gutta, and then Vinson hand washes the silk.

The last step is using the fabric to realize her vision. Vinson has used her hand-painted silk to create gowns and chemises, flags and dance costumes, pillows and wall hangings, scarves and jackets. Her mother was a seamstress.

"I grew up sitting under the sewing machine on rainy days, pushing the pedal," she re­called. At the University of Kentucky Vinson studied textile and design, as well as business; but sewing is her least favorite part of her art.

"I love to paint," she said. "I don't love to sew. But in order to make the whole thing work, only you know how it goes together."

From start to finish, a single project can take weeks. Though her prices do not completely pay for the investment of her time and energy, Vinson nevertheless says it's worth it.

"It's wonderful to see your work in action," said Vinson. "When you wear it, it's much more exciting than on a wall. It goes from something dead to something alive."